One of Those People
by YogaForever
Summary: Sonic felt something in him squeeze, and then give way, gone. Like letting go of a hand you hadn't held long enough. Sonadow/Challenge Writing M for suggestive material, NOT a lemon.


_Here you go, Cooro. _

**One of Those People **

by

_Nana_

"And you're absolutely certain of what you're doing?" Said Shadow, seeking Sonic from the edge of the blue hedgehog's bed. He crossed one leg underneath himself, trying to relax.

"I couldn't be surer." Sonic chirped from the attached bathroom, door barely ajar, not that the barrier of wood kept his voice from traveling. Shadow exhaled deeply and watched his hands in his lap. He was growing impatient.

"But didn't you say...say that you've never, that is, done this before?" Shadow found the words rather sticky in his mouth, and forcing them out was as easy as getting all the peanut butter off the roof of your mouth.

Sonic stuck his head out from the bathroom. "And you're bringing that up because?" Sonic looked embarrassed.

"In case you needed..." But Shadow stopped there. Sonic's vague annoyance at being called out was embarrassing Shadow. Shadow opened his mouth to continue, but closed it again around the gummy words. Sticky indeed.

Sonic laughed, bringing Shadow's eyes back to his face. All humiliation was banished from his smile. "What? In case I needed _help_?"

In return, Shadow shrugged, watching his hands again. Sonic rolled his eyes playfully and went back to the bathroom.

"Are you certain that we'll be alone all afternoon?"

"Do you have any GUN missions planned?"

"It's my day off."

"We should be fine then. Stop worrying. It's not a good look for you."

"What about Tails, though? School's out at 2:15."

"Oh my God, you are such a worrywart!" Sonic called from the bathroom, his tone making Shadow think Sonic's words were ones of revelation. "Whatever happened to Mr. Ultimate Lifeform?"

Shadow, silent as a slinking tomcat, rose from the bed. Something about Sonic's question fueled his challenging nature. He took a step toward the bathroom, and realizing Sonic hadn't heard a thing over his continued interrogation, Shadow sneaked closer and closer.

"What happened to your confidence?" Sonic asked and Shadow paused outside the bathroom door. "Your swagger?"

Shadow gripped the doorknob.

"Your deep, assured voice." Shadow grinned at Sonic's imitation of him. He turned the doorknob as quietly as he'd stepped across the room. "Don't tell me you're going to turn into some wrist-wringing, fretting woman!"

"Not a chance, Hedgehog." Shadow swung the bathroom door wide. Sonic jumped so high Shadow thought -for a split-second- that he'd hit the ceiling, knock himself unconscious, and land on the linoleum with his pants down. No such thing. Sonic half-screamed and caught himself before finishing and spun around then turned his back on Shadow, face red as Amy's favorite sundress. He flushed deeper at the thought of Amy.

"Sonic?" Shadow asked. "Are you finished with the..." his voice dropped a level, "preparations?"

"Goddam bastard." Sonic muttered, unsure of what to do with himself. To Shadow he said: "Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Just thought preparation was important to you, that's all." Shadow remarked, stepping up behind Sonic with confidence and most definitely with swagger. He looped his arms around Sonic and pulled him closer. Sonic tripped on his jeans and landed full weight on Shadow's chest, but Shadow held him up with ease. Shadow put his face into the curve of Sonic's neck and breathed him in. Grass and sweat and spring air.

Home.

"Hahaha...Okaaaay, someone's getting a little absorbed." Sonic leaned away from Shadow. He wanted to turn around in his arms, but held back. He wanted his pants on. He didn't want to be so vulnerable. _Stupid. He's not going to do anything. You're safe_. He thought. "Shadow?"

"Sorry, I was thinking." Said Shadow. He steadied Sonic and held him tighter.

"What about?" Sonic sighed. He put his hands over Shadow's.

"Just that, well, why shouldn't I get absorbed? When I'm with you - I want to get lost in the moment with you. I want to be absorbed." He sank deeper into Sonic's shoulder. Sonic rolled his eyes at the cheesiness. Even Tails used less cheese on his chili dogs.

"How very Hallmark of you." Sonic smirked.

Shadow's closed eyelids fluttered, irritated. "Fine. Whatever. I'll keep my mouth shut."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. I wish we could be more Hallmark sometimes."

"Do you?" Shadow said, amused.

"Sometimes. Like," Sonic found confidence enough in Shadow's words to turn in his arms and look up at him. "Sometimes I want to buy you birthday presents and just-because presents 'cause I saw somethin' that reminded me of you."

"We're not that kind of co- we're not those kind of people Sonic." Shadow's grip loosened.

"I know." Sonic's head lowered. He looked back up. "But what if we were?"

Shadow reached up and then touched Sonic's cheek gently. With the back of his fingers he caressed his face, bare-handed. He pursed his lips. Dropped his hand from Sonic's face and kept it at his side. "If we were those kind of people I'd buy you presents just because I thought of you."

"Just once wouldn't you hold my hand? If we were those kind of people."

Shadow took firm hold of Sonic's hand. "Yes. If we were those kind of people, I'd hold your hand all the time if you wanted me to."

There was a moment of tender, wandering silence. They didn't look at each other, Shadow examined the sink and Sonic looked at their joined hands. Without thinking about it, Shadow separated that grip and Sonic felt separated on some unthought about level. It was a meandering thought. There one moment - gone the next.

"So, school's out in little more than an hour. It's your day off." Shadow looked at Sonic. "Let's make it count? I really want to try this out."

"It's not that hard."

"Can't be harder than the other side of it." Sonic's eyes widened at just the memory of the first time. He seemed to shudder just a little.

Shadow kissed Sonic, and pulled him so tight Sonic began to feel breathless. Somewhere between kissing and traveling hands they made it to Sonic's bed and they were somehow undressed. Sonic tossed away Shadow's belt and guessed he had something to do with it.

Who knew?

"So," said Tails over an hour later, sitting at the foot of Sonic's bed, solving problems on a homework sheet. "What did you do today, Sonic?"

Sonic gave a noncommital grunt, and said, "not much." He turned the page in his book of maps, holding it above his head as he was stretched out on his back.

"Changed your sheets." Tails remarked.

"Yep. They needed changing." Sonic said absentmindedly.

"I thought you changed them yesterday." Tails noticed something in the corner of Sonic's room. He got up to fetch it.

"I did. They needed changing. You know, again." Sonic sat up against the headboard and flipped over pages and pages of unexplored terrain.

Tails picked up the tell-tale giveaway object and quirked his eyebrow. He turned around and threw himself onto the bed, tousling Sonic, sending his book away. "This is Shadow's."

"What's-?" Sonic stopped at the sight of Shadow's belt. His GUN uniform belt with his name on the inside. Sonic's whole face dropped into a blank slate. Unless you knew Sonic. Then you knew his emotionless expression meant that he was crafting a way out of this in his head right now.

"What was Shadow doing in your room?" Tails crossed his legs, daring Sonic to tell the truth with his eyes.

"Nothing." Sonic took the belt. "Well, not nothing. He needed to ask me a question about-about that thing - that battle with Robotnik last week and he must've left this behind."

Tails took the belt back. "So he took off his belt? That makes zero sense. What? Did he have to beat the answers out of you?" Tails laughed at the thought. Sonic fought not to flush. "Or...was there another method to making you talk?"

"And just what are you suggesting?" Tails burst into laughter at Sonic's indignant blush. "Tails! Knock that off, man. It's so _not_ cool."

"What's not cool is the way you go around hiding things from me like I'm still eight. I'm twelve, Sonic. Almost thirteen. You can talk to me. Trust me." Tails' amusement went away. It was replaced by a grown-up sincerity. Sonic swallowed. He lowered his eyes, because he was never very good at lying to Tails.

"Hey, man, can we not talk about this? It's not, it's not like you think it is, okay? He just - he just left it behind. I don't know why he took it off. I was probably in the can at the time. But leave it alone. I'm not one of those people who go around having..." Sonic bit his lip, realizing he wasn't even sure what he had with Shadow. "I'm just not one of those people."

"But," Tails folded the belt in thirds. "If you were? You would tell me, wouldn't you?"

Sonic could hear an echo of Shadow's voice in his own, "if I was one of those people, then yeah. I'd tell you everything." _I'd hold your hand all the time if you wanted me to._ "But I'm not. So drop it."

Tails blinked, feeling like he'd missed something. But instead of pursuing it, looking for smaller print after the _The End_ printed plainly on the last page, Tails just ended the conversation and closed the book. Maybe he'd reread it later. See the symbolisms in the unsaid words. Carefully as he could, he dropped the belt off the bed and returned to solving easier problems on the paper in front of him. He nodded at Sonic. And Sonic, relieved, sighed and returned to his book of maps.

"Just make sure you're absolutely certain of what you're doing." Tails spouted off before he could tell himself not to. He glanced up at Sonic, alarmed, but Sonic hadn't paused from his reading. Sonic turned the page. Tails looked away.

Sonic felt something in him squeeze, and then give way, feeling gone. Like letting go of a hand you hadn't held long enough.

**The End.**


End file.
